One of the biggest challenges facing liberation movements which come to power is that, while they may wield political power, real economic power remains in the hands of a pre-liberation capitalist bloc. This compromises delivery of basic services and hampers transformative measures like land reform.

These points were made by National Deputy General Secretary of the South African Communist Party (SACP), Mr Jeremy Cronin at the Chris Hani Memorial Lecture on the Westville campus on April 29.

Speaking on the topic "The Challenges Facing Liberation Movements Who Are in Power," Mr Cronin observed that there are crucial differences between Zimbabwe and South Africa which may save South Africa from going the same way as Zimbabwe. These include the fact that the African National Congress (ANC) is a much older liberation movement than ZANU-PF, and the change in political direction adopted at the ANC's Polokwane Conference.

He added that the biggest mistake many liberation movements make is to create a small elite completely detached from the people on the ground. This results in issues like price fixing of basic foods and the electricity crises not being addressed.

More than 200 people, including students, academics and political activists attended the event with Mr Temba Mthembu representing the SACP in KwaZulu-Natal and Professor Dasarath Chetty representing UKZN.

The lecture was a joint initiative of the Chris Hani Institute and UKZN to commemorate the assassination of SACP Secretary-General Chris Hani outside his Boksburg home 15 years ago.

Political
activists, academics and students gathered
at the UKZN's Westville campus on May
15 to reflect upon the life and contribution
made by the late journalist, political
and human rights activist, Mr Strini Moodley,
in South Africa's liberation struggle.
This was the second time the University
had the opportunity to present the Strini
Moodley Memorial Lecture in conjunction
with the Umtapo Centre.

Respected academic
Professor RH Nengwekhulu, who worked closely
with Mr Moodley in the 1970s while they
were both part of the South African Student
Congress, delivered the lecture in the
Senate Chamber to about 130 people.

Mr
Moodley died on April 27, 2006 following
a short illness. Sentenced to five years
imprisonment on Robben Island in 1976,
he was a founding member of the Umtapo
Centre which aims to empower people through
education and training. Guests were officially
welcomed by Professor Fikile Mazibuko,
Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Head of the
College of Humanities who described Mr
Strini Moodley as a "powerful intellectual
and a critical thinker".

While speaking on the "The Place, Role
and The Contribution of Strini Moodley in
the Struggle for the Liberation of South
Africa", Professor Nengwekhulu said
Mr Moodley had played a critical role within
the organisation as editor of the newsletter,
SASO News. He said Mr Moodley had joined
SASO not only because he yearned for political
change but because he was a good communicator.

"It is important that Strini is honored
at this Memorial Lecture, because in the
society we live in today, people who have
made an important contribution to the
politics of a country 'disappear' and
are not heard of after a while," said
Professor Nengwekhulu.

The
issue of maintaining ethics while conducting
research was examined during a seminar at
the Edgewood campus earlier this month.
Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission,
Mr Jody Kollapen, addressed the topic during
his talk on Human Rights, Ethics and
Research.

Mr Kollapen's lecture was part of a doctoral
seminar series organised by the Faculty
of Education which aimes to strengthen researchers'
compliance with ethical policies and procedures.

On the topic of ethics, issues such as informed
consent of participants and participant's
understanding of this, came to the fore.
The "intrusiveness" of the research process
engaged by researchers was also discussed.

Presenting his lecture, Mr Kollapen spoke
of the human rights of participants in research
programmes. "It is my view that when a researcher
takes on research in the Social Sciences,
participants are bearers of rights and researchers
have an obligation to respect this," he
said.

While academic freedom is enshrined
in Section 16 of our Constitution, Mr Kollapen
spoke of the need to exercise this right
in a responsible manner. In his concluding
remarks, Mr Kollapen stressed the important
role of Higher Education institutions in
transforming society. "Higher Education
institutions have a vital role to play in
the transformation of society in areas of
health and education. Research is the key
cog in achieving this," he added.

Dean of
the Faculty of Education, Professor Renuka
Vithal, said the issue of ethics had taken
on "increasing importance" as more sensitive
topics and vulnerable people were researched.
"Strong ethical training is necessary in
the education and training of researchers.
We need to interrogate the type of programmes
we put in place to address such issues and
build the necessary sensitivity and caring
so that researchers observe the highest
standards of ethics," said Professor Vithal.

The high food prices prompted countries from all over the African continent to meet in Pretoria over three days to discuss the negative effects this has had on poor communities all over the continent.

The workshop, titled: Accelerating Investments in Response to High Food Prices and Food Insecurity was attended by 16 countries and organized by the African Union (AU) and New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).

The meeting was attended by among others, Ms Sheila Sisulu, Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Programme, Director for Rural Economy and Agriculture in the African Union, Dr Ahmadu Babagana, Nepad's Agricultural Adivsor, Professor Richard Mkandawire, Professor Sheryl Hendriks Head of UKZN's African Centre for Food Security (ACFS) and Mr Getachew Diriba, Senior Programme Advisor for the World Food Programme in Rome.

Staff members from the School of Agricultural Science and Agribusiness Dr Joseph Adjetey, Professor Igantius Nshalai, Mr Mike Underwood, Ms Thembi Mncia and Ms Unathi Kolanisi, along with three post graduate students were in attendance.

The main goal of the meeting was to assist governments in selected countries in Africa to identify and formulate an appropriate country framework of specific food security interventions following an approach to boost food production, availability and access to food for the most vulnerable and cope with higher and more volatile food prices.

Professor Hendriks added that while households may respond and recover from this crisis, aid is needed urgently.

"We have had two decades of bad poor policy and agriculture and trade policies that have not been protected and have been vulnerable."

She added that the increase demand for grain, for food and biofuel and the concurrent rises in fuel and fertilizer prices has caused a huge burden on farmers and has created a panic in society.

"There is a shortage in maize, wheat and rice and that has created a panic in society. We don't have individual answers to this problem - that is why we are working together. We will create concrete plans of action this week for the 16 participating countries, but to do that we have to think together."

Vice-Chancellor, Professor Malegapuru Makgoba,
recently attended the Higher Education Summit
for Global Development in Washington in
the United States which attracted 200 international
leaders of Higher Education including 30
from Africa.

The Summit aimed to broaden
partnerships and networks between the United
States and other developed countries as
well as developing Higher Education institutions,
the private sector and education foundations.
The debate also covered innovative approaches
to teaching, research, technology transfer
and business development.

Professor Makgoba
said it was an excellent meeting and concerns
over the level and quality of Higher Education
were raised. "The world is concerned about
the poor state of Higher Education in Africa
and the rest of the world in relation to
the area of qualification. The aim is to
build a future generation of scholars who
are highly qualified."

Professor Makgoba
also co-chaired a session on Learner Centred
Future: Colleges for Tomorrow. Areas such
as the two-year college model in the United
States were discussed in relation to creating
access to Higher Education and how the model
could work in Africa.

"It was an interesting
discussion. Community colleges in the US
have made huge contributions such as supplying
universities with students who are ready
for higher education or the work place.
It is an important component in the higher
education system in that country."

"Although
what was discussed was familiar territory,
it was done at a global scale and was interesting.
It was an excellent meeting and will be
repeated next year in India," added Professor
Makgoba.

The
Health Economics and HIV and AIDS Research
Division (HEARD), which celebrates its 10th
anniversary this year, hosted a one-day
Retrospective and HIV and AIDS Research
Review at the Innovation Centre on May 14.

Prominent researchers from across the Southern African Developement Community(SADC)
as well as young researchers engaged in
robust debate about issues including HIV
and AIDS research, prevention and treatment
of HIV and AIDS, social impacts of the disease
and translation of research into impact.

Young researchers were given an opportunity
to discuss their dreams and aspirations.

The conference was attended by the Director
of HEARD, Professor Alan Whiteside; Professor
Tim Quinlan of HEARD; Professor Nigel Rollins
of the Department of Paediatrics and Child
Health; Dr John Mwesigwa, Regional AIDS
Training Network Executive Director in Kenya;
Dr Anita Sandstrom, Executive Director of
the Southern African AIDS Trust and Professor
John Msuya, from the Sokoine University
of Agriculture in Tanzania.

Professor Whiteside
established HEARD in 1998 at the then University
of Natal in order to lead an initiative
to conduct applied research into the socio-economic
aspects of public health, especially in
HIV and AIDS.

"It has been 10 years of amazing
work and 10 years of working with amazing
people. We've done amazingly and we will
continue to do so."

Professor Dasarath Chetty, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Corporate Relations visited the Technical University of Lisbon in Portugal between May 15-18 to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Rector of UTL, Professor Fernando Ramôa Ribeiro.

The Technical University of Lisbon, a partner of MIT, is one of the largest technical state universities in Portugal, with about 21 680 students, 1 834 teaching staff and 1 235 non teaching staff. Both UKZN and UTL share common interests and values will assist both parties in establishing channels of communication which will permit the meaningful exchange of both scientific and cultural knowledge to ensure that the MOU in given effect.

The agreement will inter alia allow for the development of the exchange of undergraduate and postgraduate students; joint supervision of Master and Doctoral Studies; exchange of faculty members and staff; promote joint research projects; encourage participation in academic seminars and conferences and promote development of mutual co-operation.

"The MOU will serve as a basis to jointly address some of the main research challenges that are facing South Africa and the world in general" said Professor Chetty. These issues are issues such as the 'energy crisis' which may be addressed by looking at alternative ways of providing energy through the many resources that South Africa has available (like solar energy, wind energy and wave-energy).

Professor Chetty said the signing of this MOU was historic because "it was the first time any South African university has had the opportunity to sign an agreement with a university in Portugal". The MOU and the process leading to its signing was facilitated and co-ordinated by Mr Reggie Govender, CEO of UKZN Innovation, with the assistance of the South African Embassy in Lisbon.

Four
second-year B.Sc. students at the School
of Chemical Engineering have received a
R500 000 bursary from the Durban-based company
Isegen, world-renowned manufacturers of
food acidulants.

"There is a shortage of
chemical engineers in the country and this
is our contribution towards meeting the
demand and at the same time assisting previously
disadvantaged students," said Mr Robert Fowlds,
Managing Director of Isegen.

Mr Fowlds has
offered the students part-time employment
for their practical training and said when
they completed their degrees he would consider
offering them full-time employment or help
them find jobs in the industry.

Professor
Milan Carsky of the School of Chemical Engineering
said UKZN was most grateful for the financial
assistance. "The demand for chemical engineers
is on the rise and there are very few chemical
engineers in Africa. However, South Africa
is in a very fortunate position, with numerous
large multinational companies doing research
locally," added Professor Carsky.

The School
of Chemical Engineering is the largest in
Africa and has an active post-graduate research
programme. The Chemical Engineering Programme
is accredited by the Engineering Council
of South Africa and internationally under
the Washington Accord.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Malegapuru Makgoba
has presented a lecture at an AIDS conference
in Paris attended by 30 leading international
scientists.

The conference titled 25 Years
of HIV was held at the Institut Pasteur
which is where AIDS was first diagnosed
25 years ago. Professor Makgoba presented
an analysis on: 27 years of Responding to
HIV and AIDS: The Picture onwards.

The Institut
Pasteur is a non-profit private foundation
dedicated to the prevention and treatment
of diseases through biological research,
education and public health activities.
Before leaving Durban for Paris, Professor
Makgoba said he was extremely honoured to
be part of the high-powered conference.

From Paris Professor Makgoba will proceed to Japan where
he has been invited by the Prime Minister
of Japan, Mr Yasuo Fukuda, to attend the
inaugural Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize Award
Ceremony in his capacity as the Chairman
of the Medical Services sub-Committee of
the Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize. The ceremony
takes place on May 28.

The award ceremony
will also be attended by the Emperor and
Empress of Japan, 41 African Heads of States,
and Professor Miriam K Were and Dr Brian
Greenwood, both laureates of the inaugural
Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize.

The government
of Japan established the Hideyo Noguchi
Prize in July 2006 as a new international
medical research and services award to mark
the official visit by the Japanese Prime
Minister to Africa in May 2006 as well as
commemorating the 80th anniversary of Dr
Noguchi's death.

A
Time of Memory - Reflections on Recent
South African Writing by Senior Research
Associate in the School of Education Dr
Betty Govinden was launched at the Suncoast
Casino on May 5.

The book is a collection of critical essays
on Durban writers, Aziz Hassim, Imraan Coovadia,
and Sita Gandhi. Other essays are on Zuleikha
Mayat's A Treasure Trove of Memory -
A Reflection on the Experiences of the People
of Potchefstroom, and Darryl Accone's
All Under Heaven - The Story of a Chinese
Family in South Africa.

Welcoming guests,
the Dean of the Faculty of Education
Professor Renuka Vithal said that Dr Govinden
is a role model for women: "Betty has really
weathered many of the challenges that academia
has foisted on women… She always makes the
invisible visible."

Mr Satish Dhupelia,
son of Sita Gandhi, and great-grandson of
Mahatma Gandhi, expressed his appreciation
for the way the essay on his mother's Memoir
was thoughtfully developed.

In her speech,
Dr Govinden highlighted the need for opportunities
and material resources to be made available
to more South African women to write books.
She emphasised that her intention was to
read the texts she had selected, not in
a narrow ethnocentric way, but as "part
of our collective history" of the African
continent and of the colonised world."

Guests
at the launch included Deputy Vice-Chancellor
and Head of the College of Humanities, Professor
Fikile Mazibuko; eThekwini Deputy Mayor,
Councillor Logie Naidoo; the Consul General
of India, Mr Harsh Vardhan Shringla; and
the Chancellor of the Durban University
of Technology , Mrs Ela Gandhi.

The
highly impressive impact of UKZN research
on homestead farming in the rural community
of Ogagwini will be on display this week
for Regional Government officials.

Agricultural
research academic and crop scientist, Professor
Thembinkosi Modi, has invited the Department
of Economic Development and the Department
of Agriculture to an Outreach Information
day in the region on Thursday, May 22.

With
funding from the South Africa-Netherlands
Research Programme on Alternatives in Development
(SANPAD), Professor Modi's research is slowly
transforming the quiet rural village in
Umbumbulu into a farming hub.

Professor
Modi first imparted his knowledge on organic
farming to the locals of Ogagwini in 2000
- a year later he formed the Ezemvelo Farmers
Organisation with 28 farmers. Now seven
years down the line, Professor Modi's efforts
have mobilised a vibrant farming community
- 70% of whom are women.

Professor Modi
helped empower the local people to champion
organic farming as a stable and economically-viable
means of income. He helped with the production
and sale of their produce through leading
retailers, including Woolworths who stock
amadumbe from the region.

His objective
is to educate people about the benefits
of producing traditional/indigenous vegetables,
identify the opportunities for research
on indigenous knowledge systems in agriculture
and investigate the impact of such farming
on the local economy.

His aim with all
of this is to improve the lives of those
in rural communities - "that's where we
want to start developing the economy," he
said.

A group of undergraduates from Students
in Free Enterprise (SIFE) recently joined
Professor Modi in his cause and are helping
educate and train people at Ogagwini.

The
African Institute of Mathematical Sciences
(AIMS) at Muizenberg - which has a highly
beneficial working relationship with UKZN
- recently celebrated the opening of a
research centre.

AIMS is a postgraduate
training and education institution of
excellence in mathematics which accepts
top graduates from all over Africa providing
them with a well-balanced foundation in
advanced mathematics.

The emphasis is
on mathematical modelling which enables
graduates to successfully progress either
to higher degree studies in top South
African and international universities
or to careers in high-tech industries.

Professor Banasiak
has been a member of the AIMS Advisory
Board while UKZN has accepted a large
number of AIMS postgraduate students at
both MSc and PhD levels.

The AIMS Research
Centre was officially opened on May 12
by the Honourable Minister M Mangena and
was attended by several high-profile guests
including Professor S Hawking, Nobel laureates
R Smoot and D Gross as well as the NASA
Administrator Dr M Griffin. It will focus
on cutting edge research in mathematical
modelling in fields which are relevant
in the South African and African context,
biology and epidemiology, mathematical
finance and cosmology, and astrophysics.

Professor Banasiak, Dr Moodley and two
former AIMS students, Ms M Phoolo and
Mr I Karambal, who are currently studying
at UKZN, were among those invited to the
high profile opening.

Two
students in the Faculty of Science and Agriculture
- who obtained their undergraduate degrees
cum laude this year - have received the
prestigious Crowhurst Bond Memorial Scholarship
worth R20 000 each.

They are Miss Santhiska
Pather, who is studying towards an Honours
Degree in Marine Biology, and Miss Heidi
Du Clou, who is pursuing an Honours Degree
in Chemistry. According to the Student Funding
Centre, the Scholarship is awarded annually
to a deserving student within the Faculty
of Science and Agriculture or the Faculty
of Engineering.

As no student was selected
for the Scholarship last year, two were
awarded this year on the basis of academic
excellence. Miss Pather, who was the only
graduate in the Faculty to obtain her Bachelor
of Science Degree in Biological Sciences,
cum laude, said she was "grateful and honoured"
to have received the Scholarship. She said
it would enable her to continue studying
towards her Master's Degree next year.

Inspiration
for Miss Pather, whose current project for
her Honours degree is on Sandy Beach Ecology,
stems from her academically-inclined parents
who instilled in her the importance of knowledge
and tertiary education. Miss Du Clou said
as a single mother studying would have been
impossible without scholarships. She has
been the recipient of the Emma Smith Scholarship
for the past two years.

Miss Du Clou who
graduated with her Bachelor of Science degree
in Pure and Applied Chemistry cum laude
in April said: "Opportunities like this
(scholarships) are so important for students
because it allows us access to education."

A
student at the Nelson R Mandela School of
Medicine (NRMSM) who has excelled in karate
was recently acknowledged at an international
tournament in Russia. Fourth-year student,
Mr Thabani Mndebela, and his three team
mates were recognised as the best fighters
in their category at the International Karate
Team Tournament held in Khabarovsk, Russia,
on May 11.

The International Karate Organisation
presented the team with the Best Fighters
Diploma for their prowess in the martial
art. Mr Mndebela's participation in a tournament
in South Africa last year - the All African
Kyokushin Karate Tournament - led to his
selection for the Russian competition.

Mr
Mndebela, who has a brown belt, said he
felt he "deserved" this win because of the
"hours of hard work I have put in". He trains
daily at UKZN's Old Mutual Sports Hall.
Students are often advised to balance their
studies with extra curricular activities
and Mr Mndebela has struck this balance
through his karate training. It has taught
him discipline and motivated him in his
studies. The aspirant paediatrician said
he chose to study Medicine because he "liked
serving people".

Professor Willem Sturm,
Dean of the Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine
said: "Students and staff at the NRMSM are
proud of Thabani's achievements. He is a
role model for younger students in that
he performs in his sport at international
level while being successful in his studies
as well."

Dr
Mihalis Chasomeris of the Graduate School
of Business represented UKZN at two international
conferences in the Far East recently.

The
first event was the International Shipping,
Port & Logistics Conference held at Kainan
University in Taiwan where Dr Chasomeris
presented a paper on "The (Mis) Measurement
of International Transport Costs".

The second
gathering was the annual Conference of the
International Association of Maritime Economists
(IAME) jointly organised by Dalian Maritime
University in China and the University of
Plymouth in the United Kingdom. It was the
first time the conference - attended by
more than 120 academics and practitioners
from 26 countries - has been held in Mainland
China. Dr Chasomeris presented his research
on: "The Econometric (Mis) Use of Country
CIF/FOB ratios to Measure International
Transport Costs".

Both papers were well
received and explained that the United Nations,
World Bank, African Development Bank and
several researchers use import cif/fob ratios
to measure international transport costs.
Unfortunately, for many countries, these
ratios are not reliable.

The presentation
by Dr Chasomeris at the IAME Conference
and the networking opportunities it provided
resulted in him being invited to contribute
to an international research project. The
broad purpose of this project is to assess
the contribution made by South African ports
to the national economy of South Africa.
Dr Chasomeris has also received the honour
of being invited to serve as a full member
of the IAME Council until the 2010 IAME
Conference.

UKZN's
Drama Department was among the winners
at the M-Net Emerging Dynamics in Television
(EDiT) Awards held at The Venue in Johannesburg.
The film, Commando, by Drama and Media
student Stephen de Villiers won the M-Net
EDiT Award for Cinematography.

Mr de Villiers was given
an M-Net EDiT grant last year to make the
Boer War epic. He and his crew shot the
film in September over six days in the Kamberg
Nature Reserve in Lesotho and at McCrorie
House in Pietermaritzburg.

Mr de Villiers
is currently in New Zealand before he begins
his Masters Degree at UKZN. Collecting the
award on his behalf was the Director of
Photography (DOP) of Commando, Mr David
Willert.

M-Net Commisioning Editor Mr Sibusiso
Ndebele, who spearheads the EDiT project,
said: "We have been nurturing student film
making for many years. EDiT has been a huge
success and we take pride and joy when we
see how young film makers who got their
first break through this initiative proceed
to build solid film and television careers."

The EDiT initiative is open to tertiary
institution students who are in their final
year of study or post-graduates as well
as to individuals doing their apprenticeship
or who are interns at production companies.

Drama Co-ordinator at the Pietermaritzburg
campus, Veronica Baxter, said credit should
be given to the lecturer in Script writing,
Ms Janet van Eeden, who coaches the students
in writing treatments (specialised film-selling
documents) which are then submitted to the
M-Net selection panel.

The five students
chosen from tertiary institutions are given
a R40 000 grant to make their own films
on the basis of the quality of the treatments
alone. The M-Net EDiT Awards are awarded
after the final film productions have been
judged by a panel of experts in the industry.

South
Africa is short of electricians, carpenters
and plumbers, students at a UKZN awards
ceremony heard recently. Professor Bonke
Dumisa of the School of Management and
former CEO of the Durban Chamber of Commerce
and Industry made the statement during
a presentation on skills development.

Professor Dumisa said the above trades
were just some of the sectors suffering
from a shortage of skills.

He was speaking
at an Awards Presentation for students
who had completed a course in the Advanced
Certificate in Public and Development
Management which was facilitated by the
Project Management and Training Unit which
is housed in the Faculty of Management
Studies. Academics in the School of Public
Administration are responsible for managing
the different modules in the Programme.

In his address, he mentioned the Joint
Initiative on Priority Skills Acquisition
(JIPSA) and the Accelerated and Shared
Growth Initiative for South Africa
(AsgiSA) as initiatives used by the government
to decrease unemployment.

Professor Dumisa
then challenged the students to use the
knowledge they had acquired to address the
issue of skills shortage. One of the reasons
he had left the corporate sector was to
play a meaningful role in skills development
through research and teaching.

Students
were congratulated on completing the course
by the director of the Project Management
and Training Unit, Professor Mervin Kambuwa.

The training programme was aimed at middle
managers and attracted participants from
the various spheres of government and the
non-governmental community. Many of the
participants who have graduated successfully
from the Programme over the years are currently
holding top management positions in the
public sector.

The
Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine hosted
a delegation from Tohoku University in Japan on April 25.
Visiting Professors, Toshio Hattori, Manabu
Fukumoto and Tetsuya Kodama met with researchers
who are involved in treating and researching
Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR)-Tuberculosis
(TB), Extremely-Drug Resistant-TB (XDR-TB),
HIV and AIDS, and the formulation of Novel
Drug Delivery Systems.

Professor Hattorri
presented on the HIV Type-1 (HIV-1) cases
in Japan. Since 1985 the number of HIV positive
patients in Japan has increased from 20
to 1400 on an annual basis.

Professor Kodama's
presentation was on how nanobubble technology
can be used for micro-diagnostics by using
high-frequency ultrasound. Novel liposomal
bubbles (Bubble liposomes), containing the
lipid nanobubbles of perfluoropropane used
as the ultrasound imaging agent, was developed.
These bubble liposomes induced cavitation
upon exposure to ultrasound. Hence the outer
layer of liquid is attracted into the core,
opening the layer of lipids, hence releasing
the drug.

The cavitation of these Bubble
liposomes is an efficient approach for delivering
plasmid DNA into cells suggesting that bubble
liposomes could be effective as a non-viral
vector system in in vivo gene delivery.
Professor Kodama said that nanobubbles can
be used for early diagnosis of malignant
lymphoma and Karposi's sarcoma.

Ms Lisa
du Toit, a PhD student in Pharmacy will
spend three months this year at Tohoku University
to undergo training in nanotechnology.

Dr Evodia Setati (second left) and Miss Simphiwe Buthelezi (back - second left) from Microbiology with a group of Life Sciences teachers on the Westville campus.

Relationship
building was the main objective of the Faculty
of Science and Agriculture's teacher information
days held recently on the Westville campus.

Maths, Physical Science and Life Sciences
teachers from various high schools in the
Durban and Pietermaritzburg areas interacted
with Faculty staff and experienced the new
and improved Science facilities on campus.

Information sessions on the key aspects
of the new National Senior Certificate (NSC)
Maths and Science curriculum took place
in the Science and Technology Education
Centre. Teachers gleaned valuable information
on the requirements and competencies necessary
for success in the fields of science and
agriculture.

Tours of the Chemistry, Physics,
Computer Science, Biology, Microbiology
and Biochemistry laboratories and research
facilities proved to be an eye-opening experience
for many of the teachers. They marvelled
at the sophisticated and state-of-the-art
resources available to students.

Overall
the event served its purpose, benefiting
the teachers and the Faculty. Teachers left
with a new vision of the University and
Faculty members learnt about the challenges
facing secondary school educators.

Diabetes is a life threatening disease which
is becoming increasingly prevalent in South
Africa and Roche is acutely conscious of
the importance of effectively monitoring
and treating diabetic patients. It is therefore
essential that students training to become
registered dietitians are well equipped
to identify and deal with patients exhibiting
diabetic symptoms.

The Accu-Chek blood glucose
monitor kits, which are Federal Drug Administration
(FDA) approved, are used in state facilities
around the country. They are used specifically
to test and monitor blood glucose (sugar)
levels in patients.

Diabetes Nurse Specialist
from Roche, Sister Fiona Prins said: "We
want to make sure the students are well
equipped when they go out. We are hoping
they will use them in their practice and
enjoy the Accu-Chek products for the future".

Dietetic postgraduate student, Ms Kirasha
Maharaj who is currently conducting her
clinical internship at Northdale Hospital
said that the kit would be very useful as
she would no longer have to rely on nursing
staff and doctors to generate blood glucose
results but could perform the tests herself.

UKZN
lecturer Professor Suria Govender and
three dancers of the Surialanga Dance
Company performed at the SA Freedom
Week celebrations held in Seoul, South
Korea, recently.

South Africa's Ambassador
to Korea, Mr Stefanus Schoeman, invited
them to the event aimed at celebrating
South Africa's freedom and cultural
diversity which ran alongside a trade
and industry fair.

Hundreds of Korean
people and Ambassadors representing
about 70 countries experienced the unique
dance fusion - a blend of Indian classical
dance and music of the different cultural
groups in South Africa. Performers from
Cape Town and Durban singing in isiZulu,
English and Afrikaans, supported the
dancers.

Artists had the unusual experience
of performing on a train which travelled
through the Korean countryside on a
four-hour journey.

The Surialanga Dance
Company's renditions, which were spread
over four days, included a performance
at a banquet for over 70 Ambassadors
from the surrounding area and their
guests.

Another highlight was interaction
with Korean orphans who benefit from
a special project under the auspices
of the South African Embassy in Seoul.

Student
leadership experts from the United States
were briefed on UKZN student development
initiatives during their recent visit.

Ms Hui Ling Chan and Mr J Bradley Blankenship,
delegates of the Association of Colleges
and University Housing Officers-International
(ACUHOI), caught a glimpse of student
life at the Westville and Howard College
campuses.

Their tour of the campuses
included a visit to residences where
they gained first hand knowledge of
services available to students. Their
visit culminated with a meeting with
the Executive Dean of Students, Mr Trevor
Wills, and Deputy Dean, Mr Themba Khumalo.

The visit provided an opportunity for
the exchange of information on student
development issues. Delegates indicated
that they were impressed by the enthusiasm
of people tasked with the duty of "wanting
to make things happen for students here
at UKZN". They also attended a seminar
at which student housing staff received
training on how to improve student life
outside of academic work.

They spoke
of student development outside of the
academic programme - skills that would
enable students to become responsible
citizens and develop leadership skills.
Ms Ling Chan said: "Students here are
more respectful and polite to people
they interact with compared with those
in the United States."

Ms Vasanthie
Naidoo, Director: Department of Student
Housing, at UKZN said: "They exchanged
information on how their systems work,
which would assist both parties in enhancing
processes and procedures to ensure smooth
running of operations.